Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone...

[exile]

We're heading out for NY/LI in exactly 10 minutes, and while I have some hopes of keeping connected during the trip (we're staying at a motel which probably has wireless in each room), it's gonna be much more touch and go for the rest of the week. So I just wanted to wish everyone a terrific and safe Thanksgiving holiday, with as little tension and as much good cheer as possible.

 

[14 Kempo]

We're heading out for NY/LI in exactly 10 minutes, and while I have some hopes of keeping connected during the trip (we're staying at a motel which probably has wireless in each room), it's gonna be much more touch and go for the rest of the week. So I just wanted to wish everyone a terrific and safe Thanksgiving holiday, with as little tension and as much good cheer as possible.

Thanks Exile, and you have a great time as well! ... Be safe.

 

[Drac]

Thanks ex..The same to you...

 

[shesulsa]

Back at you Ex ... and to everyone else!

 

[newGuy12]

Yes! I hope that everyone has a good one!

 

[Xue Sheng]

And to you as well

 

[MJS]

Same to you Exile and to everyone else as well. :ultracool

 

[morph4me]

Same to you Bob. The best to you and your family, and to everyone else.

 

[terryl965]

Right back at you Bob and to everyone else as well. This has got to be the greatest time of the year, people are so much nicer.

 

[Kacey]

Safe and happy holiday to you and yours - to one and all!

 

[MBuzzy]

Yay Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving, Exile!

And of course, everyone else! I'll be at my parents house.....so I'll probably be checking MT more than usual!

 

[LawDog]

To all of you and yours, are very Happy and Safe holiday weekend.

 

[elder999]

One of the most powerful feelings, or states of beings, is that of gratitude. Being grateful for all our blessings is a spiritually beneficial way of life. Remaining consciously in gratitude for what we already have is an effective defense against the incessant chatter of the ego. The ego demands more possessions and instant gratification of all its ever-changing and expanding desires. This philosophy is often called “materialism”, or “capitalism”. Entire economies are built around constant consumption. If people actually started living in the energetic frequency of gratitude, the economy of this country would drastically change. After all, the current system is predicated upon people believing they don’t have enough. It is actually quite insane, and is destructive of people’s lives as well as the natural environment. Tomorrow, they're actually going to televise something that Spike TV is calling the "Turkey Bowl,"-professional competitive eaters will consume a 20 lb. turkey in something like eight minutes, and we're posting here about "Black Friday'- the official beginning of the Christmas Consumer Season.....I've got nothing against material possessions, or the occasional bout of feasting-especially the occasional bout of feasting-but doesn't this strike anyone else as more than a little sick and crazy?

For me, personally, Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday. I don’t necessarily care for the idea of over-eating or sitting on the couch in a semi-coma, watching the ball game. I enjoy the quietness of the shutting-down of everyday life, and the smell of pies and fresh baked rolls. My mother bakes the most delicious pies you could ever imagine. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, she also bakes bread and rolls. That smell alone makes the holidays seem extra special. Mom doesn’t care for turkey, so she’d ask Aunt Madeline, my grandfather’s sister, to bring one. (Truth be told, she didn’t care too much for Aunt Mad, either.) My father’s fortes were candies, and breakfasts, so he’d make a real nice breakfast that morning before church, and fudge. The meals were always banquets, fit for a king…. The problem was that a lot of the people there didn’t really like each other, and there was quite a bit of tension and stress. We were all gathered together because we were related, not because we would have chosen each other as friends. I literally worshipped my mother and father, and I loved my little brother and sisters and was very protective of them, however personally, I could’ve done without a lot of the rest of the crowd. Today, in our home we always have peaceful Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, even if the pies come frozen from the store.

Nowadays, some people have the mistaken notion that Thanksgiving is a holiday that celebrates oppression and genocide. As someone of American Indian heritage, I have to say that this is, of course, not true. The main reason for this misconception is that the myth of Pilgrims, or Puritans has taken over the original holiday. Most people seem to think that these Puritans held the first Thanksgiving. It is a shame, really, for the Puritans were some of the most unlikable people in the history of the country, and didn’t celebrate holidays. Furthermore, cultures around the world have held celebrations of thanksgiving for thousands of years.

As a country, we are facing some difficult challenges. As individuals, we are being called to take a stand for what we believe in. It is important that we give our time and attention to our material world responsibilities. Yet, it is also crucial that we recognize what we already have, and be thankful for those blessings. All in all, we mostly live lives of comfort and abundance. Even the poorest amongst us are far more abundant than most people in Africa or Asia. Yet, I assure you that the day is coming when we will look back with amazement upon the lavish lifestyles we take for granted today.

For myself, I thank the Creator for my life and my health, both of which seem to keep going on in spite of themselves, and continue to truly be a blessing-of course, I thank the Creator every day for them, just as I do for my family, my success, my many friends,my extraordinarily wonderful wife (a true blessing that I don’t deserve), my children, the brave men and women in our armed forces, police and fire departments, the food I eat, the water I drink, and the air that I somehow continue to breathe, but tomorrow, before the feasting and festivities, I’ll set aside some time to give some extra thanks for all the blessings I’ve enjoyed this year….

This Thanksgiving ,please spend some time sitting quietly and giving thanks to the Creator, or your ancestors, or your broker :lol:, (or yourselves)-or all of these-for all your blessings…..

….and may all of you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.